Rec plans promise fun for Port Huron

We have our fingers crossed that the Michigan Department of Natural Resources approves Port Huron’s latest request for grant funding. The city proposes to put the money to good use.

It has asked for $600,000 to renovate the plaza in front of McMorran Place and $120,000 for improvements to Palmer Park.

The update to the McMorran plaza continues a process that began a couple of years ago, cleaning up an area that had become dated and unloved. It had also become an affront to the art and architecture of the McMorran façade given to the city by the Murphy and Mackenzie families and designed by famed artist Marshall Fredericks.

It’s better now, but not what it could be. In part, that is because design standards have changed. Because of its tiers and steps, the plaza is not accessible to people with disabilities. Recreation director Nancy Winzer’s project would fix that, bringing the plaza down to a single level so that everyone can use it.

“As a department, we’re trying to make everything universally accessible because it’s important for people of all abilities to be able to participate in recreation,” Winzer said.

The project brings more than utility. We hope it steals a little panache from the Riverview Plaza courtyard in St. Clair. The makeover of that similarly dated and time-worn space converted it into that community’s front lawn, a place where neighbors go to gather and share an appreciation for the St. Clair River and their community.

The McMorran project probably won’t go that far — with custom seating, gas-operated fireplaces and new sculptures — but it will make the plaza more welcoming, usable and accessible. We look forward to a summer concert there in the glow of Fredericks’ Night and Day fountain and gilded clock — because the McMorran plaza already has world-class art works. And we look forward to sharing the music with our neighbors who might not have been able to attend in the past because of their disabilities.

Improvements at Palmer Park, at Armour and Garfield streets seem more prosaic. The money, if the city gets it, mostly would go to upgrade a parking lot and add accessible walkways and parking spaces.

But appearances can be deceiving. The new paths will tie together other exciting improvements to Palmer Park that will be happening this year. The city is using a National Recreation and Park Association grant to build a small children’s bike trail around the park and a natural play area.

Winzer, with help from former planning director Kim Harmer, makes getting others to pay for our fun look like child’s play. We should throw a party for her in front of McMorran.